


And the Drowned Safe

by VickeyStar



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: #BecauseMagic, Mention of torture, Navy Museum in Alabama, old timey safe, specifically waterboarding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:17:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9980030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VickeyStar/pseuds/VickeyStar
Summary: The Librarians get an interesting case.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I actually googled the amount of time for holding breath underwater and it really is 22.22 minutes.  
> Yikes!  
> Enjoy!  
> ~SleevesCakes/VickeyStar  
> PS  
> Still taking requests, just so u guys kno!

“Aha!” Cassandra squealed in excitement as the Clippings Book glowed. “We have a case!”

Jake stood and followed her to the Clippings Book Stand while Ezekiel continued to secretly order security cameras and other things to discretely install in the others’ homes.

“John Doe found dead in Navy Museum in Alabama,” Jake read aloud, “cause of death is drowning, but there’s no water.”

Ezekiel finally got up after confirming his orders and walked to the Clippings Book Stand.

“Wait, go back to the picture.” He said, stopping Cassandra from turning the page. Eve and Flynn had walked into the room by then, and the group was watching the thief as he stared at the image.

“Mark Jackson.”

His tone was incredulous, like he was surprised, and the others looked at his face to see that his eyebrows had risen from their normal position and he looked shocked.

“You know him?” Flynn asked, walking towards the group of three.

“Yeah,” Ezekiel replied, “I worked a couple jobs with him back in 2006.” His expression turned mildly annoyed. “He stabbed me in the back.”

Flynn huffed. “No honor among thieves, huh.”  
Ezekiel shook his head, looking confused. “No, I mean he literally stabbed me in the back, I still have the scar.” He gestured towards his back, where Eve could see the tip of a stark white scar.

Ezekiel finally seemed to notice the weird looks everybody was giving him, because he shrugged, looking genuinely confused. “What? I’ve faced worse and survived. Can’t say I’m upset that he’s dead, though.”

He refused to acknowledge that his words only made them all look more concerned, and carefully did not follow that train of thought.

“Anyways,” Eve said, “let’s go solve the case.”

~*~

They went into the Navy Museum that night, Ezekiel heading the mission, because they were essentially breaking into the museum, also an active crime scene if the yellow tape was to be believed.

Flynn and Eve were in another room, investigating, while the three Librarians were focused on the main room.

It was one of the smaller rooms of the museum, showing off a couple trinkets and a big safe in the corner. There were two curtained areas in the back.

Ezekiel froze as goosebumps spread across his skin.

“Hide.”  
The others’ gaze shot to him as he looked around the room, clicking his flashlight off.

“What?” Jake asked, confused.

“Someone’s coming. Hide.” The thief replied in a hushed tone, and Jake grabbed Cassandra, pulling her behind one curtain before hiding behind the other.

Ezekiel looked to the safe after having looked for other hiding spots. He could hear the clacking of boots down the hall.

The safe’s door closed as the guard walked into the room.

~*~

He didn’t risk turning his flashlight on, and waited. The safe was big enough to fit him, thank the gods, and he had plenty of air. He listened as the footsteps faded and felt a weird wetness at his feet.

Ezekiel frowned as he felt liquid begin running down the walls of the safe, seemingly coming from the top.  
His hands scrabbled along the door, looking for the lock, when he realized.

It was an old safe.

There was no lock to pick.

The water was at his waist and he pulled his damp phone from his pocket, trying to text or call the others.

Then, he realized he was in a safe, and his phone was very wet.  
Also, no signal.

He cursed as he dropped the phone and started banging on the door, water at his neck.  
Ezekiel finally gave that up, and sucked in a deep breath before being completely submerged.

~*~

Twenty-four minutes later, Eve and Flynn had snuck back into the room after the guard left, looking for their Librarians.

“Stone? Jones?” Eve whispered, looking around.

The two curtains moved, to reveal Stone and Cassandra.

“Where’s our resident thief?” Flynn asked, peering around.

They looked at each other, and shrugged. “He hid after making sure we were good.” Jake replied.

Flynn frowned, pacing the room. “If I were a thief, where would I hide?”  
Eve looked at the safe. “Wasn’t that opened?”  
They started walking towards it when they stepped into a puddle, slowly leaking from the safe.

“Oh, no.” Eve whispered, somehow knowing their thief was in there.

Flynn and Stone rushed forward, trying to work the code, while Cassandra started mumbling about history and locks and patterns.

Eve looked at the information panel.

Their Guardian pushed the men aside and opened the safe, using the set of numbers she found on the panel, to hear a splash and see a wet thief step out of the safe.

Flynn grabbed his arm as Cassandra pulled him into a hug, completely ignoring the slightly annoyed expression on Ezekiel’s face.

“I’m going back to the Annex. There we’ll create a copy and I’ll come back to steal the damn safe.”

He then turned and walked away, his shoes sloshing on the floor.

~*~

When the others got back to the Annex, they found Ezekiel in a different outfit, with a blanket over his shoulders and hot tea in his hands. He glared at them when he entered, and Jenkins sighed at their questioning glances.

“Mr. Jones is just irritated that he might have a cold.” The immortal explained.

Jake frowned. “Yeah, also, not that we’re not glad you didn’t drown, but how did you not drown?”  
Flynn scoffed. “Probably a thief trick.”

“No, not a thief trick.” Ezekiel spoke, staring a little too intently at his tea.

The others stared at him until they realized he would need more prompting.

“Well? Where did you learn to hold your breath for twenty-four minutes?” Eve asked, and Jake frowned.

“Twenty-four? I thought the record was twenty-two.”

Ezekiel scoffed. “No, that’s what the governments want you to think.”  
He glanced up to see them all looking very confused.

The thief sighed, feeling a new respect for Jenkins, all of the sudden.

“The governments of the world want you to think that, because it makes you underestimate them. I’m pretty sure the actual record is in the thirties.”

The others gaped at him as he rolled his eyes.

Jenkins refilled his cup of tea.

“Governments?” Eve asked, bringing them back to the original topic.

Ezekiel nodded. “MI6. In order to work for them they have to make sure you won’t give them up under any situation, including and not limited to torture.”

The looks of horror spread on their faces, but Flynn and Jenkins only looked grimm.

“What kind of torture?” the eldest Librarian asked in a low voice.

Ezekiel shrugged, like he made a comment on the weather, in lieu of admitting he was tortured. “All kinds they could think of.”

The team shuddered, thinking about what the thief might’ve gone through.

“I learned to hold my breath from the waterboarding, among other things. It was very informative.”

He glanced up at the others to see sadness and what he perceived to see as pity on their faces, and quickly finished his tea.

“Well, I’m tired, and I need to start the replication at home, so I’m gonna head out. Goodnight.”

He left quickly after that, leaving the team to their thoughts.

edn

 


End file.
